Unpredictable
by Raelyn723
Summary: Ally had to leave Austin, because of something that happened, something both of them should have had to handle. But how could Ally ruin his career? His life as he knew it? She couldn't. She ran away to raise her daughter without him. But life is...unpredictable. I know it's been done a lot, but I had an idea and I wanted to write it. Thanks for (maybe) reading. T just in case.
1. Stories

**Okay, so I'm not sure if this story is any good. It might suck. I got bored so I started writing it. Anyways, I think we all know that I don't own Austin and Ally. I guess I own Arynn but that's it. And I'm sorry if this story sucks. I'd love some feedback though. Thanks for reading :D now to the story ;)**

How strange life can be sometimes. How unpredictable.

That had been the first thing I thought every morning for the previous five years. I got up, showered, walked downstairs to make a strong pot of coffee, then had about an hour of alone time before my daughter came stumbling down the staircase, mumbling about breakfast.

That morning was slightly different. My daughter just so happened to wake up before me. Instead of waking up to the blaring of my alarm, I woke to quiet giggling and floorboards creaking under a tiny weight. I smiled slightly, knowing what was coming, but kept my eyes closed.

Suddenly, an object hit my side from the opposite side of the bed. Something scrambled on top of me and I rolled over, slowly opening my eyes.

My daughter was covering her mouth with her small hands, tinkling laughter slipping through her fingers. Her cheeks were flushed and her hazel eyes shone brightly, though it was still only about seven in the morning. I laughed along with her, sitting up and pulling her into a tight hug.

"Good morning Mama," she giggled into my shoulder. I pulled back and smiled at her.

"Good morning to you too, angel," I replied.

After my morning greeting, I walked her down the staircase. There was hardly enough space to walk side by side, both on the staircase and in the hallways. Our house was small; two bedrooms, one bathroom, a small, box-like living room, and a kitchen. But that was all we needed.

"Mama?" she asked as we entered our small, messy kitchen.

"Yeah baby?"

"Can we have pancakes? Pretty, pretty please?" I laughed in response, pulling out a pan and the pancake mix from the pantry. She started dancing around the room, singing about how much she loved pancakes and how she would eat them every day, if I would let her.

I set up the table as the pancakes cooked. She finally settled down and seated herself just as I finished the last one.

She ate the pancakes like they were going out of style, shoving bites into her mouth, eyes watering because they were still a little too warm. Suddenly, she froze. I glanced at her and raised my eyebrows.

"We forgot pickles!" she cried, scrambling out of her seat and into the fridge. She pulled out the pickles and handed me the container to open.

"Arynn," I said as I twisted the lid, "you know I love pickles, but pairing them with pancakes is a little…odd."

"I know Mama! I just love pancakes and pickles _so _much!" she squealed. I pulled out a pickle, shaking it so the juice would flow off, then handed it to her.

I finished my breakfast first, but Arynn finished soon after. She ran into the bathroom to brush her teeth. When she came out she was holding her small pink brush in her hand. I followed her to the couch, where I sat on the worn fabric and she sat on the carpet by my feet.

I pulled the brush from her small hand then ran it through her blonde curls. They were getting so long, reaching her lower back. She started humming a song as I continued, but stopped when I was working at a small knot near the bottom of her hair.

"Mama, can you tell me the story about Daddy again?" she asked quietly. I'd known it was coming, it was routine for her to ask almost every morning, but it still surprised me when she sounded so unsure.

"Of course," I said, a small smile stretching across my lips. It had surprised me when she figured out the stories I told her were about her father and I. She always was smart, but I hadn't realized she would understand the meaning behind the fairy tales I told her. I ran the brush through her hair once more as I continued. "Once upon a time, there was a small kingdom that was always filled with music. The prince of that kingdom was very childish and silly, but he was very serious about his love for music. That was the one thing that he was passionate about." I lost myself in the story, as did Arynn.

"His parents didn't always support his love for music. They wanted him to be able to support the kingdom, but music was holding him back from that. What they didn't know, was that not only was the prince in love with his music, but he was also going out at night in disguise to perform. One of those nights, a girl was walking by. She had stopped and watched his entire performance, then offered him her change at the end. He refused to take it, but asked what her name was. She told him, and then left before they could talk.

The prince became focused on the girl, wondering what she was doing and who she was with until one day, he decided to go out and find her. He searched his entire kingdom before he decided that maybe she didn't live there. Maybe she had been visiting from a different kingdom. He walked into a small music store to take a break from his search and think. That was where he heard a voice. Someone was singing inside the store.

He searched the store, looking for the owner of the voice. Eventually, he found a girl sitting at a piano inside a room filled with instruments. He watched silently until she finished the song, and then he clapped. She turned and stared at him in shock. He was not in disguise, and she knew that he was the prince.

When he realized who she was, he immediately got down on one knee. He asked her to marry him, for he had searched the whole kingdom for her, even though he did not know her, he wanted to. She said yes."

And that was where the story normally ended. I realized that I had gotten so invested in the story that I was still brushing her hair, though the knots and tangles had long ago disappeared. This time, the story did not end where it always had before.

"Mama did Daddy really ask you to marry him?" she asked.

I hesitated. I had crafted this story specifically so she would be able to know how much I loved her father, and how much I thought he loved me. I didn't want her to find out who he was. I didn't want her to be disappointed that her father might not have been the kind prince that she thought he was. Still, I told her the truth. "No, sweetheart," I replied, "but he did ask me to be his music partner, and that was a little similar."

"Oh," she mumbled, "well Mama…what happened next?"

"Um…" I hesitated again. Then I sighed, deciding to continue the story in a somewhat honest way. "The prince and the girl got married. For a long time, everything was perfect. But then, the princess got a special present from her fairy godmother that she was supposed to share with the prince. She was worried though, because the present was a lot of responsibility, and she thought the prince might be too young for that.

The princess decided to tell him about the present, and if he didn't want it, she decided she would find a way to handle the present by herself. Instead of telling him though, the princess went to his room. She heard yelling on the other side of the door. The prince's parents were angry with him. They didn't approve of his marriage to the princess. Then, the princess heard another voice. It was the voice of the prince's manager. He planned everything the prince did.

The manager said that the prince had to leave his princess. The prince put up a big fight, but his manager made very good points about why the prince shouldn't have married the princess. Even if the prince wasn't convinced, the princess was. If the manager didn't want the prince to marry the princess, what would he say about the present? So, the princess ran to her room, packed her bags and left the prince a note. And then she left the castle, left the kingdom, and took the present with her."

I was whispering by the end of the story, but I could tell Arynn had heard the entire thing, because she turned around, climbed onto my lap, and hugged me tightly.

"It's okay, Mama," she whispered in my ear, "Don't be sad. The prince always looks for his princess. In all the fairy tales there is always a happy ending."

I didn't realize I was crying until I felt a small hand on my cheek. My daughter looked at me, rubbed away a tear and then smiled. Suddenly, I found myself laughing at the pure irony of that. My four year old daughter was comforting me.

We laughed together, then she climbed off my lap and went to get a movie to watch out of her bedroom. I sat on the couch again, thinking.

If only he hadn't come looking.

**Is it worth continuing? Maybe? Anyways, I might upload another chapter, might not I honestly don't know. Thanks for reading this whole thing though!**


	2. Reminiscing

**Hi people! Thank you SO much for all the reviews and the follows and the favorites and everything! You have NO idea how much it means to me. I've never been super confident with my writing and then you people actually liked it! I was SOOOOO excited, it was amazing. So, this is sort of a filler chapter. I guess it's to give you some background on how things went down and how they ended up the way they did. Now...I guess I'll stop rambling! **

Arynn had preschool during the weekdays, but today was one of her days off. I worked while she was at school, but my boss was great so he only scheduled me during the time she was at school. That meant I had today off too. We watched a couple movies, all of them Disney. She tended to get super invested in the stories, even if she'd already seen them a hundred times, so at random points in the movie she would start yelling at the characters, telling them what to do.

"You're supposed to kiss her now! Seriously, she's just standing there waiting!" she yelled at Flynn Rider. I couldn't help the silent chuckles that erupted, and she noticed, seeing as she was lying on my lap.

"Mama! It's not funny!" she blushed. I couldn't hold back the laughter anymore and the room was filled with giggles when she joined in.

I pulled her close to me and whispered in her ear, "Did you know your daddy used to do the same thing?"

She turned to me, hazel eyes wide and pleased. "Really?" she asked. I nodded. "I'm just like daddy!" she yelled, jumping off our couch to dance around the room in her happiness.

I laughed again, this time slightly quieter. It was strange how true that statement was. Her personality was almost exactly like her father's. The pancakes, the movies, the dancing, and the childish behavior. Though, that last one was probably because she really was a child.

Some parts of her did resemble me. The pickles. She also had a tendency to freeze up in front of a crowd. And she was small, like me. She was a part of the tenth percentile in her age group, so the doctor was always trying to get me to give her vitamins and things to help her grow. The rest of her appearance belonged solely to her father.

Blonde hair. It was curly, which I suppose was a part of me, but her father had wavy hair, so maybe it was part him as well. Her rich, brown eyes. She even had his nose!

Suddenly, a hand was placed on mine and I looked up into the most important person in my life's face. She looked worried.

"Mama, you looked sad again." She whispered.

"No sweetheart," I replied, pulling her close, "I was just thinking about how beautiful you are."

She blushed and pulled away, giggling. "Hey Mama? Can we go visit grandpa soon?" she asked.

I thought it over and nodded, remembering how close I had come to having to leave my father completely. After the whole ordeal with Arynn and everything, my dad hadn't known what to do. He couldn't leave Sonic Boom, but he didn't want to send me off completely on my own. So, he'd helped me pick an apartment that was distant enough for nobody to find me if I didn't want them to, but close enough to still visit. We lived just on the outskirts of Miami, and my father and…everyone else lived somewhere near the heart of the city. I didn't visit often, but Arynn liked to. Besides, today was my day off.

I told her to run off and get dressed, seeing as she had originally wanted to stay in her pajamas all day to watch movies. She did as she was told and while she was gone, I thought about the old days back when I still worked at Sonic Boom.

The last time I'd gone into that store was also the last time that I saw _him_. I'd left him a note on his doorstep—much like the story I told Arynn—and gone back to Sonic Boom to pack some last minute things. I was crying, thinking about all those awful but true things that _his_ manager was telling him about me. He kept telling him that I would ruin his career, that I was a distraction. And all of it was true, but we could have handled me being his distraction. It was Arynn that could ruin his career. What kind of pop star gets his 16 year old girlfriend pregnant?

So, I'd left him that note and gone back to Sonic Boom. I was just about to lock the doors for what would end up being the last time, when Dallas came in. We were sort of friends now. After I got over him, Cassidy had come back and, they ended up dating. We'd even gone on a couple of double dates with them.

He walked into the store and immediately noticed something was up. He asked me what was wrong, noticing the bags and the mascara stains on my cheeks. I tried to avoid the question, but I'd never been good at that. Then, I tried lying, but I had never been good at that either. Eventually, he broke me down and I told him. He was the second person I'd told, after my father and I remember thinking how wrong it was. I was telling _Dallas _before the father of the baby.

He'd been shocked at first and he didn't know what to do. I could tell he was scrambling, trying to find something to say. I just shook my head with tears streaming down my cheeks again. I must have looked so awful. Dallas walked up to me and pulled me into a hug. We stayed that way for a while, just as friends. When I finally pulled away, I smiled at him. He made some stupid joke I can't even remember now, and looked down at my stomach. That was when I saw _him._

Austin. Austin was standing outside the doors of Sonic Boom. Next to him was Jimmy, looking as evil and sinister as ever. He smiled at me, but I only saw that out of the corner of my eye. All I could see was Austin. He looked so…devastated. It was like he'd just lost his best friend. Then, his gaze hardened and he abruptly turned away from me. I quickly told Dallas I had to go, then ran towards the door, but he had already started running. I was about to go after him when someone grabbed my hand and stopped me.

Jimmy was holding me back. He pulled me off to the side.

"Ally," he started. He sounded sympathetic, but I knew it was fake, "don't go after him. I know exactly why you're leaving," he looked pointedly at my stomach, "and if you go after him, if you comfort him and tell him why you left him that note, do you think he's going to let you leave?"

I shook my head, too shocked to say anything in response.

"Exactly. He'll risk his career to keep you and that…_baby. _And his career would be over as soon as the press found out. And he would become just another statistic in the teen pregnancies."

I knew I didn't want that. And by now, Austin would be too far away for me to catch him. I turned around and went back to Sonic Boom, but I couldn't get the image of Austin's face out of my head.

I was snapped out of my memories when a small voice came down from the staircase. "Mama! Do I look okay?"

I smiled and looked at the top of the stairs. She liked to dress up when going to visit grandpa. She was wearing her favorite pink dress that had designs on it shaped like roses, little white leggings with lace around her ankles, and she was carrying down her cute little dress shoes she'd gotten for Christmas. I shook my head at her, dead serious.

"Nope," I answered. She looked at me with wide eyes, shocked that I hadn't told her she looked fine. "You look beautiful." I finished.

She laughed, relieved and skipped down the rest of the stairs. I helped her put on her shoes and then put mine on. Grabbing our coats from the closet, I pulled her out the door and we walked together to the car.

She always wanted to listen to the radio. Another thing she got from Austin and me: our love of music. She could already play piano, and she was starting to learn guitar. I turned the music on, tightening my hands on the steering wheel as she began to sing the song that was playing. Her voice was like pure silk, smooth and sweet and innocent, but when it mixed with her father's voice, it was perfection.

**Haha yeah...and that's it! Sorry it wasn't such a great chapter, but you do need to know what happened. There's still more to the story of what happened at Sonic Boom, but Ally doesn't know it. Did you people see the new episode? Oh my god I was giggling through the whole thing! I just want them together so badly! Anyways, don't know when I'll update next but I think it'll get a little dramatic soon. I was planning on having Trish and Dez in here, but I haven't had a chance to bring them in and I don't know how I will, soooo it'll probably just be random. THANK YOU SO MUCH for reading!**


	3. Signings

**Alright so, I'm sorry I didn't update as soon as I could have. This is only my second story and my first multi-chapter so I'm not really sure how this is going to go. I'm pretty sure I can upload a new chapter at least every Saturday or Sunday. I seriously can't believe the response to this, thank you so much to everyone who followed, favorited, and reviewed. It means the world to me, and I know that's what a lot of people here say but I swear to God I mean it. It makes me so happy every time I get an email that someone favorited or followed or reviewed. Anyway, sorry for the cheesiness, just wanted you all to know ;). I hope this makes up for the wait, tell me if I'm going too fast with the story. Thanks for reading!**

**I can't remember if I said this, so just in case I didn't I do NOT own Austin and Ally or any songs I might use or...pretty much anything except for Arynn.  
**

When we got to my dad's house, everything seemed perfectly normal. I unlocked the door with the spare key I had, just like I always did. But when I walked through the door with Arynn by my side, we could both make out the sound of my dad's frustrated voice.

He was sitting at the kitchen table, running his hand across his receding hairline and talking on the phone.

"Alright, alright Martha. I'll come in as soon as I can," he said, then hung up. He sighed, standing from the table and that is when he saw us. It took a moment for it to register with him, I could tell, but after about three seconds, his face lit up and he opened his arms for Arynn. She ran into them and he picked her up, as if he wasn't getting too old to be doing that.

"Dad," I started, voice tight with worry over what I had overheard, "what's up?"

He looked at me over Arynn's shoulder and shrugged slightly. "We're holding…a signing at Sonic Boom today and it's getting a little too chaotic for Martha. I told her I'd go in to help calm things down."

I nodded in understanding. Business at the store picked up after…Austin got famous. Celebrities eventually started doing signings there, and sometimes things would get so hectic we would have to call in backup. Once we even got so swamped we had to call in a last resort: Trish.

"I could go if you want. Arynn wanted to spend some time with you, so I could go handle the store for a little while," I offered, but halfway through he was shaking his head.

"Oh, it's alright sweetheart. I don't think we need your help," his words were hesitant, like he was thinking about them before he said them. It made me suspicious. "I could take Arynn to the store with me and you could have a day off," he looked at Arynn, still wrapped in his arms, "how does that sound, Angel? I know you don't like crowds but you could spend time with me and maybe even practice in mommy's old practice room?"

She nodded fervently, and smiled. She loved that old practice room, but I never went in there anymore. Too many memories. If she wanted to play on my old piano or just hang out at one of the tables to color in her coloring book (outside the lines, might I add) I would find some excuse to work in the store or just sit outside the door to listen.

I hesitantly agreed to the plan, helping my dad move Arynn's booster seat from my car to his, and buckling her in. I kissed her forehead, told her to be good for grandpa and try not to bug whatever celebrity was signing today, then climbed into my car. I rolled down the window as I pulled out of the driveway, yelling "I love you" across the lawn to the car they were sitting in. They both waved in response.

I honestly had no idea what to do. We didn't have a whole lot of spare money, but my job at the diner did leave me with a little bit from tips. I decided that I would head into town and visit the small shops that Arynn loved to get clothes from. And last time I checked, Trish had a job at one of the boutiques.

Trish was the only one of the group that knew I had Arynn. In fact, she guessed that I was pregnant almost before I did. She did what Trish always does: support me in whatever decision I make. I told her I wanted to wait to tell Austin and that I absolutely did _not _want Dez to know, because he was even worse at keeping secrets than Trish was. She had freaked out when I confirmed her suspicions and told her that, but after screaming that I was pregnant at a bunny running across the field, she felt better. I remember I looked at her like she was crazy but she just looked at me, shrugging, "Well I had to tell _someone._" She'd said.

I laughed at the bittersweet memory, pulling into a parking spot in front of Arynn's favorite boutique.

When I ran from Austin's house, I had gone to Sonic Boom, then after the ordeal with Jimmy, I went straight to Trish. She listened as I blubbered and cried into her shoulder, completely unsure of what to do. She looked at me and told me to go with my heart. I didn't listen. I told her that I wanted to leave, never talk to Austin again because that was what was best for him. She hadn't been necessarily happy with that decision, but she supported me nonetheless. She visited frequently, especially after Arynn was born. We never talked about Austin or Dez, though I knew that she was still in sort-of-contact with the crazy red head.

The door jingled as I pushed it open, wondering if Trish had managed to keep this job since three days ago, when she told me about it. Her record now was a whole week of one job, so I had a small bit of hope.

That hope was turned into certainty when I saw a head of crazy burly brown hair. I snuck up behind her, whispering _Boo! _into her ear. Who said a mom couldn't have a little fun every once in a while? She jumped about a foot in the air, flinging her magazine through the air.

I could tell she was mad, but I didn't care. I was too busy laughing, clutching at my side as I gasped for breath. She scoffed and turned around to retrieve her magazine.

After many minutes filled with my short, wheezing breath and laughter, I finally managed to stop.

"I'm sorry Trish," I sighed, "it was just too good an opportunity to pass up!"

She sighed, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, well I suppose I _should _pay more attention to the costumers when the walk in." She laughed a little, then stopped suddenly. Her eyes widened ever-so-slightly and I saw her shove her magazine in a drawer behind her. I brushed it off, assuming it was something about _him _that she just didn't want me to see. It tended to make our conversations awkward. "So…" she started, "what are you doing out and about?" she glanced behind me, "and without Arynn?"

"Oh, that," I laughed a little, "My dad had stuff to do at the store, apparently some celebrity signing was making things a little too hard for Martha to handle. He took Arynn with him 'cause she wanted to spend time with him."

Trish nodded tensely, mouth a thin line. What was up with everyone today? I looked around the shop, hoping for something cute to stand out on the clearance rack for Arynn.

"Anything come in that she'd like?" I asked Trish, knowing she'd understand.

"There was some pretty cute stuff in her size that came in yesterday. It's over there," she pointed her hand towards the back of the shop, not bothering to get up and show me. I rolled my eyes at her laziness and walked over to the stand.

There were quite a few shirts that Arynn would like. After picking out a few of them, I walked back up to Trish at the register. She started to make 'casual' conversation with me, but it felt rather tense.

"So where are you headed after this?" she asked.

"Well, I was just going to go to Sonic Boom and help out."

"Oh come on, Ally!" Trish replied rather hastily, "you're in a shop full of cute clothes and you aren't even trying them on! You don't have Arynn with you. It's like, the perfect time to do something for yourself! Plus, you get a discount for being friends with a worker." She winked and shooed me off to the adult section. There really were some cute clothes here for me, but I didn't have much money left. I glanced back at Trish who smiled and nodded, encouraging me to try something on. I sighed and turned back to the rack.

Smiling suddenly, I grabbed anything that was even remotely cute, and rushed to the small, curtained dressing room.

When I finally finished trying on a bunch of shirts and pants and dresses, I took my very favorite shirt to the counter. I couldn't afford more than that and I thought I might take Arynn out for desert tonight, so I wanted to have just a little bit of spare money left. The best thing about this shop was that it was cheap, but good quality.

Trish rang me up and told me to call her later, I nodded and walked out the door, suddenly very excited to get back to Arynn at Sonic Boom. It was late, so the parking lot was less crowded. The mall was closing in about 30 minutes, so Sonic Boom wouldn't be busy anymore. I hustled through the empty mall, stopping at the doors to Sonic Boom. I pulled them open, listening as the cowbell my dad had attached to the door let out its low ring.

"Arynn?" I called out. Nobody was downstairs, so I assumed they were up in the practice room. Sure enough, Arynn flung the door open flying down the staircase and into my arms. I picked her up, laughing at her enthusiasm.

"Somebody missed me," I stated happily, hugging her tighter. She pulled back giggling.

"Of course!" she smiled hugely, one of the happiest smiles I'd seen in forever. "You'll never guess who was signing at the store today!" she cried, her smile stretching even more, bringing out her dimples.

"Who was it kiddo?" I asked.

She squealed and squirmed, signaling that she wanted out of my tight embrace. I set her down and she ran circles around me, grabbing my hand and dragging me toward the stairs.

"It was _him_!" she cried. "Austin Moon was signing stuff here!"

And that was when I saw the figure standing in the open practice room doorway.

**Bum, bum, bum! Haha I think I made it a little obvious who's standing there, but whatever ;) I think it's still a sort of cliffy :D so I'll try to update sooner than next Saturday to make sure nobody gets too frustrated about the wait ;) just kidding, I think it's pretty self-explanatory what's happening now. I would love to hear what you think, hate it, love it, like it, loathe it. I just want to improve my writing so any feedback at all helps tons. Thank you SO MUCH for reading! **


	4. Explanations

**Hey people! Oh my gosh, you have no idea how happy those reviews made me. I wasn't planning on updating today, but I got all my homework done and I had a lot of time left so I wrote a little. I honestly was not planning on having this happen so soon, or the way that it did happen, but sometimes when I start writing things just sort of flow from my fingers that I never planned. Anyways, I'm not sure I like how this chapter turned out, but I think the story will get more interesting soon. Not sure how long it's going to be either. Anyway, thank you SO MUCH for reading, reviewing, following, favoriting or silent reading. Thank you for just reading this, it means a lot to me :)**

**I already said this, but I don't own Austin and Ally.  
**

I froze in my spot, not moving despite the little girl tugging on my arms. His entire body was in shadow, but I knew he was looking at me. I could _feel _his gaze. It traveled from my feet to my head and I couldn't help but think that it was unfair. After five years of being unable to see each other, he got that privilege but I didn't. I suppose that was fine though, because life was never fair.

I don't know how long we both stayed there. Time seemed to stand still and even Arynn faded into the background. That is, until he turned away. He turned his body stiffly in the other direction, back into the practice room, and closed the door. I opened my mouth to call after him, to do _something,_ but just like that day five years ago, no words came through. It was ironic, in an almost sick way, that he had gone into _my _old practice room to avoid me. But it wasn't mine anymore. I worked at a diner and my dad rented out the practice room to aspiring musicians. Nothing was the same anymore.

I was shoved back into normal time when Arynn asked what was wrong. I'd been frozen too long, and she had just told me that one of her favorite musicians was here.

"Nothing's wrong sweetie," I said, brushing back her blonde curls. "I just…know him from a long, long time ago."

"You knew Austin Moon?" she squealed, so loud I could practically see the flashes of the paparazzi cameras that would surround us if she continued. I shushed her, using the universal pointer-finger-in-front-of-your-lips sign. She nodded, glancing around the room suspiciously.

"Why do I have to be quiet?" she whispered, "there's nobody here."

I laughed, but it wasn't as carefree as I would have liked and Arynn noticed. She switched to another topic before I could answer her first question.

"But Mama," she started, and I could feel that question hanging off the end of her tongue. The one I'd been dreading since she was born. It came in a different form than the normal "who is my daddy" that you hear about in stories. But it was equivalently the same question. "How do you know Austin Moon?" she asked.

My heart stuttered and I swear I couldn't breathe for a moment. I knew, I'd always known that I would have to tell her one day. I just never pictured it being so soon. I pictured sitting her down one day, telling her in a planned, sophisticated way that her father was Austin Moon. Sometime in her teen years when I thought she would understand the reason I had to raise her without him. Not _now._

Turns out, I never got the chance to explain. For the first time in five years, I heard Austin's voice in person. Not through the TV or the radio, but right behind me. In the center of the staircase, stood an older, scruffier version of my Austin Moon. His cheeks had hints of a blonde 5'o'clock shadow growing in, his muscles more pronounced through his thin T-shirt than they had once been. But that wasn't what had me near tears at the sight of him.

It was his face. His eyes, to be more specific. They were clouded with absolute hatred. Anger screamed from his body language; tightened hands, stiff muscles. I couldn't breathe from the intensity of that gaze. It was nothing like how he used to look at me.

"_Mama?" _he whispered. His voice held the same hatred as his eyes, along with shock and something else I couldn't place. I opened my mouth, but again words failed me. I could feel the hairs rising on the back of my neck, Arynn's hands tightening around mine as she noticed that almost visible tension in the store.

"Everything he said was true," he said, "everything Jimmy said was true."

If I was speechless before, I was mute now. Jimmy? What had Jimmy told Austin? Why hadn't I thought of that before now? I simply left, not asking why Austin had looked so distraught, seeing me with Dallas that last time here. He knew that Dallas and I had become decent friends. He'd said he was fine with it. So why had he run off at the sight of me hugging him?

I never got to ask. Austin stormed down the staircase, brushing past me and Arynn, who was standing next to me, completely unsure of what was happening. Her eyes were wide and almost frightened, and I knew that, even if I had known what to say to Austin—which I didn't—I wouldn't have gone after him. I needed to take care of my baby first, as always.

I heard the cowbell ringing like crazy as the door slammed behind him. I cringed, turning my whole body to face my daughter.

"Mama…" she whispered, obviously not knowing what to say.

"Baby," I breathed out, "I think I need to tell you something," she nodded, eyes still wide and scared. It broke my heart, and I knew that that feeling could end up ten times worse in just a few minutes, depending on how she reacted to the news. Another thing she had in common with Austin; her ability to surprise me in any situation. And sometimes that wasn't a good thing.

"I think I need to tell you who your father is."

The words hung between us, almost tangible in their seriousness. Her hands gripped mine with strength unknown to me. It seemed to give me the will to move on.

"Baby," I said, "You know the stories I tell you about him? The ones about the prince and the princess and the present?" she nodded. I continued, "Well, I sort of changed the story. See, your daddy wasn't a prince. He was someone very famous, a lot like a prince, but he wasn't. And the prince and the princess—or your daddy and I, I guess—didn't really get married. But I really did get a special present. One that was a whole lot of responsibility and might end up hurting your daddy's career. You were that present baby. I love you more than anything in this entire universe, you know that, but I couldn't let your daddy leave his dreams behind because you came along. He would have, because he loved you. He didn't even know about you but he loved you, and you need to know that okay?" her eyes were wet with tears and I had the strong urge to hold her close and tell her everything would be alright. But she needed to hear this whole thing.

"Arynn, your daddy doesn't know about you. But now you know about him, okay? Your daddy is Austin Moon."

I don't think she believed me at first. Her eyes were still wide and filled with tears, but there was something there that hadn't been there before. She seemed unsure. She didn't seem to understand what she was supposed to do now. She reached up, pulling on a long strand of her golden hair until she could stare at it. I could see her eyes marking all the things she had in common with the man who sang all her favorite songs. It took a while, but soon enough she was smiling at me like she'd just won the lottery.

"My daddy's Austin Moon!" she cried, throwing her arms around me and squealing.

"Yeah sweetie," I replied quietly, "but he doesn't know about you. And him and I…well, sweetheart we don't really get along that well anymore."

"How do you know Mama?" she asked, "How do you know that you don't get along with him anymore? It's been a very long time since the princess talked to her prince. She doesn't know what he's thinking." She looked at me with eyes much to wise for her age. I couldn't help the small smile that played on my lips.

"You've got a good point sweetie," I said, "so what do you think the princess should do?"

"She needs to go find her prince."

**So...yeah. Again, not sure I like it, but whatever. Thanks again for reading! Say whatever you want in reviews so long as it's appropriate (PG-13 ish). I can take criticism decently well, and if anyone wants to give me ideas or whatever you want to say, feel free. I like reading comments :) but if you don't review that's cool too cause you still read my story which is ALL I really care about so THANK YOU! Kay...don't know when I'll update next. I promise something will be up by at least Saturday night.**


	5. Searching

**Alrighty. Let me just say, that I have never really understood it when people apologize so profusely for not updating. In a way (maybe it's just me, but I have to tell you guys this) I feel like they think that we're sitting on the edge of our seats waiting for them to update, which I don't think anyone really does. Still, I think now that I have a story on here with some followers and some favoriters that are AMAZING and some WONDERFUL reviewers, I understand why they apologize so much. Because they don't want to lose the followers and the favorites and all the nice things that people do. Which is me too. So, I'm SOOOOO sorry for not updating. I really am. I'm not going to make excuses either, because I bet you don't want to hear them. It's been so long I wouldn't blame you if you just stopped reading this, so THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to anyone who continues reading this.**

**I promise I will try to update as soon as I possibly can. The next chapter at least, should be up really soon. Like REALLY soon. Anyway, again thank you so much for reading it means THE WORLD to me. **

**And sorry if I sounded rude or offended anyone at the beginning there.**

Last Time:

"_My daddy's Austin Moon!" she cried, throwing her arms around me and squealing._

_ "Yeah sweetie," I replied quietly, "but he doesn't know about you. And him and I…well, sweetheart we don't really get along that well anymore."_

_ "How do you know Mama?" she asked, "How do you know that you don't get along with him anymore? It's been a very long time since the princess talked to her prince. She doesn't know what he's thinking." She looked at me with eyes much too wise for her age. I couldn't help the small smile that played on my lips._

_ "You've got a good point sweetie," I said, "so what do you think the princess should do?"_

_ "She needs to go find her prince."_

And that is exactly what I did. Something clicked when Arynn said that and she smiled at me, grabbed my hand and, together, we ran out of Sonic Boom. All the possible scenarios were buzzing around my head like wasps. My heart was pounding, both from the running and the adrenaline that was rushing through my blood at the thought of talking to him. I found myself thanking that stupid exercise program my dad had created for Arynn and I since we were locked up in the house most of the time. Without it we never would have been able to keep up this pace.

Arynn slowed first, as expected, but we had already made it to the car. She slipped into her car seat and buckled herself in, little cheeks huffing with breath. I turned on the radio out of habit but, for the first time, neither of us sang along.

"Mama?" Arynn asked as we sped across the interstate. "Where are we going?"

I laughed, nerves and adrenaline making me shaky and giggly at the same time. "There's only one place your daddy went when he was upset sweetheart. And I can't see how any amount of fame or fortune could possibly change that."

"Where did he go Mama?" she asked, brushing her tangles out of her face. I made a note to brush her hair as soon as I could. The longer it stayed tangled the harder it would be to brush out. And I hated having to yank on her hair, even though she was strangely understanding about it.

I laughed harder this time. The one thing I was absolutely sure of was that Austin would never, ever, stop being a mama's boy. "Let's just say you might get to meet your other grandma today."

I pulled into the driveway that used to be so familiar to me. Now it seemed foreign. Like I was trespassing on private property. But I wasn't. Mimi made it clear that even if Austin and I broke up—funny how moms seem to make plans for everything isn't it?—she would still love for me to visit. I'd forgotten about it until now, but it's never too late right?

I sure hope not.

I asked Arynn if she wanted to go in or not. I wasn't sure if she would be comfortable, seeing as though she wasn't great with new people. She refused to sit and wait for me, so I found myself explaining once again how complicated this could be.

"Now Arynn," I said, "Austin's mama doesn't know about you either. She's a super nice lady and I know for sure that she'll love you, but don't tell her anything about Austin being your daddy, okay? At least not until I talk to her."

Arynn nodded her head, once again too serious for her years. Maybe I watched too many dramas and she's learned things a four year old might not normally know. I do my best but, hey, I'm not perfect.

We made our way up the gravel driveway, and to the elegant front door. Their house was always so nice that after Austin got famous and started getting paid so much, Mike and Mimi didn't want a new house. They told him to spend it on whatever he wanted, except for them. One of the many examples of the excellent parenting of Mike and Mimi moon.

I found myself frozen at the doorstep. I couldn't raise my hand to knock and all I could think was "what if Mimi didn't mean what she said? What if she takes one look at me, sees Arynn and puts it all together and then hates me for it?" I was having a mini panic attack so I didn't even notice when Arynn reached out her small fist and knocked firmly on the door. Couldn't change my mind now.

Just as I had hoped—or dreaded—it was Mimi that answered the door. She had a familiar green apron around her waist. I remembered she would always make Austin pancakes when he was upset. Real homemade pancakes—not the ones from the powder stuff that you just add water to.

I saw her eyes roaming my frame, taking in all the changes and widening at the sight of the small person next to me. She glanced at the stairs down the hallway, confirming my instinct that Austin was here.

"Is this her?" she asked quietly.

I didn't exactly know what she meant, so I didn't know how to answer her.

"Is this the girl that called you 'Mama' in front of Austin?" she didn't sound angry. In fact, I think she sounded quite the opposite. Hopeful. Maybe even proud?

I hesitated before answering, but couldn't find the words anyway. I settled on nodding my head, Arynn's grip tightening in my hand as I did so.

Mimi's face broke into a smile and she used the universal "be quiet" sign—a finger to her lips—then stood aside and ushered us into the kitchen. She turned on the fan over the stove. It was something the Moon's did when they didn't want the others in the house hearing their conversations, but Mimi also constantly had it on while she was cooking. I had a feeling Austin wouldn't be suspicious.

She made us sit at the table, Arynn stayed next to me and Mimi sat across from us. I couldn't find it in me to smile back at her, but I tried my very best not to frown or look scared either, though I secretly wanted to do both.

"So Ally," she said, her smile staying but her tone turning slightly serious, "how exactly did this come about?"

I could feel Arynn's gaze flicking nervously from my face to Mimi's and I wondered if she wished she had stayed in the car.

"It's um… kind of a long story," I replied.

"I'm pretty sure I've got time," my gaze flicked toward the stairway and she nodded. "He's asleep actually. I was just starting to make the pancakes for when he wakes up, but it'll be a while. All I got out of him before he passed out was that he had gotten to know a sweet little girl that was somehow related to Lester during the day, but she was really shy. She told him about how she loves his music though, and he found it funny since she was probably the youngest person he'd heard of listening to his music." She looked pointedly at me and I blushed.

It's not my fault most of his music isn't appropriate for kids. I didn't let her listen to the _bad _songs though!

"Anyways," she continued, "then he told me the little girl ran down the stairs and he followed her out, only to find her hugging you. He knew she was related to your father so he didn't think that much of it, but as soon as she called you "mama" he didn't know what to do anymore. So he came here. And that's what I know, so you can leave that part out of the story if you want, but I need to hear the rest."

And I could tell that she did. She needed to hear why the person who had loved her son, who her son had loved, left without a word. She needed to understand how Arynn could possibly exist because I could almost see the wheels turning in her head and I knew she would only come up with two possibilities.

Either I had cheated on Austin, or she was Austin's baby too.

I glanced at Arynn, trying to decide if _she _was ready to hear this as well. Eventually I decided that she would have to hear the whole, real story eventually, so I started telling Mimi. _Everything._

_ Austin and I had been dating for two years. We hadn't done much more than kiss, and eventually it just happened. It was exactly like I'd always thought it would be and he was sweet and kind and very… Austin about it. Everything stayed the same after that—maybe it got better, but it certainly didn't get worse._

_ Austin's album was released, and within two days it was at the top of every list, selling like it was his last CD, but it wasn't. Not even close. Everything was amazing. Everything was absolutely perfect._

_ And then I realized I was late._

_ Trish knew right away something was wrong. She actually went out and bought me the tests. She set me up in her bathroom and waited as I tested again and again, each time with the same result. I was pregnant._

_ I decided on how I was going to tell Austin, but then I overheard that awful conversation between him and Jimmy and I knew, I just knew, that having a baby would ruin Austin's career. Who buys music from a 17 year old father? I ran to Sonic Boom where I found Dallas. He was the only person I told besides Trish and my father, and he moved about two weeks after I did, so he never had a chance to tell anyone. Austin saw us hugging and ran off. Jimmy confronted me. And then I left. Packed my bags and left everyone behind to go and raise my baby on my own._

After finishing my story, I couldn't bear to meet Mimi's gaze. The funny thing was, I couldn't feel that tingly feeling that you get when people are looking at you. My eyes made the decision on their own, flying up to look at Mimi who was looking at…Arynn. She had tears in her eyes and was smiling, staring at Arynn like she was a long-ago wish granted.

"So then she's…" she got choked up at the end so I quietly confirmed her question.

"Your granddaughter? Yes. She is."

"And that means I'm…"

"A grandmother? Yes. You are."

The tears started tumbling down her cheeks and she finally looked at me. "What's her name?" she asked, as if Arynn wasn't sitting right next to me.

I glanced at Arynn, seeing shock in her features from the story that had been similar, but not quite the same as the fairy-tales I told her. I took a breath to reply to Mimi, but Arynn beat me to it.

"My name is Arynn," she answered, smiling brightly. Mimi looked ecstatic at hearing her voice. "Mama says that Aaron, the boy's name, means strong. She tells me that she wanted me to be strong, but she couldn't use a boy's way of spelling my name. I spell it like A-R-Y-N-N."

I swear that might have been the most she'd ever talked to a person after just meeting them.

Mimi turned her radiant smile on me again. "That's beautiful Ally."

And suddenly both Arynn and I were being bombarded with questions. Mimi didn't seem to have an end to her questions. It was nice though, talking to her. I hadn't talked to her or anyone from five years ago, besides Trish and my dad, since I left.

We all got so invested in the questions that we didn't even notice how much time had passed. We didn't even notice the slight sound of footsteps on their wooden stairs. We didn't even notice the shadow coming down the hallway until it was too late. We didn't notice him until a fuming, angry voice seethed from down the hall;

"What the hell is _she_ doing here?"

**Do you think I'm moving too fast? I kinda think so...I just want to get to the good part though! Haha thank you again SO MUCH for reading and I'm sorry for not updating. The name Aaron really does mean strong or strength by the way. That was why I chose it. Um...oh yeah! I can't wait until Sunday! You have no idea how excited I am! Well actually, you probably do because this is like the Auslly fandom sort of place, but whatever. **

**I'm pretty sure Ross Lynch is a mama's boy too. That's cool though, so it's all good ;)**

**I think I might update the next chapter tomorrow or Sunday if I'm not too busy fangirling over the new episode. The chapter after that will be random and I have no idea when it'll be up. Thanks for reading!**

**One last thing: do you guys know who wrote this quote in their story? "I'll be more than everything she needs. I'll be everything she deserves." I remember reading it in the Austin and Ally section, but I can't remember the story. I just think it's one of the sweetest things ever! Anyways, stay safe and remember to smile, 'cause life is a gift and you shouldn't waste it ;)!**


	6. Daughters

**Oh. My. Lord. You guys have NO idea how ecstatic I was this morning. I woke up to _25_ emails saying I had new reviews or new follows or new favorites and I swear to God I almost cried. It was insane. Thank you all SO MUCH for reading this. It means the world to me. It's actually not my best writing, and I'm never really happy with how the chapters turn out but I love getting feedback, even if it's really harsh or whatever. So THANK YOU for reading it. **

**I normally wouldn't do this because all of you reviewers each deserve a shout out, but I need to call out one person. A guest who called herself/himself (sorry that I don't know :/) Lalalala reviewed every one of the chapters so far, and each one was longer than any other reviews I've gotten (not that I care about the length, a simple "good" is amazing to read) but she actually told me what she thought and everything. So, I just wanted to tell you that it meant a lot :)**

**Now, I'm sorry that I keep leaving off at sorta cliffy parts. Yeah I'm warning you now it's a bit of a cliffy. So...yeah sorry about that. I'll try to update again soon, but I can't promise anything.**

Mimi seemed frozen in her spot. Arynn was looking frantically between me and the man whom she just found out was her father. I could feel that awful gaze of his, the one full of hatred and disgust, zeroed in on my face. I took a deep breath and turned to face him.

The one thing I didn't expect to be there was the hurt. His eyes were clouded over, but it wasn't just hatred and disgust and betrayal, it was pain. He looked like he was physically in pain, seeing my face.

It almost brought tears to my eyes, but I didn't want to cry in front of him. Or Arynn. I took a deep breath and answered him, "I had something to discuss with your mother, that's all."

"And what was that? You wanted to fix your reputation for her? Didn't want her finding out what a sl-" he was about to say an awful word, so I quickly spun around and clamped my hands over Arynn's ears. No way in hell was I letting him ruin her image of him. I could think all the bad things I wanted about him, but he was her _father. _And hearing nasty words come from his mouth would not help anyone here.

I guess he hadn't noticed that Arynn was here. It was strange, how he looked at her. His eyes found hers and the matching eye colors were so noticeable I was surprised he didn't notice. His entire face softened, though I could still see the tenseness in his shoulders and the way his hands shook ever so slightly. I uncovered Arynn's ears and stood back just a little in order to give her space to process things.

"So…" Austin started awkwardly, "Ally's your mom, huh kiddo?"

Arynn nodded tightly. She looked over at me, concerned, but I nodded to show her it was okay to go on. I could tell she didn't know how to continue. You could almost feel the tension returning, the tightness in the air that had us all standing on our toes.

"Yeah. She's the best mama ever," she stated it like it was a simple fact and again, I found myself almost tearing up, "she raised me all by herself 'cause my daddy," she glanced at me as if asking if it was okay to say something. I had no idea what she would say about her father, but I didn't stop her either, "my daddy doesn't know about me." She looked at him like she was trying to clue him in to our secret. Mimi covered her mouth to stifle a gasp and my eyes widened just a little. Maybe I should have stopped her after all.

Austin's eyes hardened immediately and he tensely glanced at me. I could see wheels turning in his head, questions being asked that I couldn't answer in front of everyone. I couldn't take my eyes away from his face. Watching as the emotions rolled across it in waves, I didn't notice Mimi pulling Arynn to the side. Austin turned on his heel and I almost went after him. Suddenly Mimi spoke up.

"Ally," she started, "why don't you…take a walk. I'll keep an eye on Arynn and try to calm Austin down. I think he just needs a little space."

I looked over at Arynn and she smiled at me, grabbing hold of Mimi's hand. We both looked a little shocked at her innocent action, but I understood. I turned around and left, not sure what I would be coming back to later.

I didn't do much at all. I just walked around the neighborhood. I stopped by a park and sat at one of the benches, but then a family came over and I worried they'd be weirded out if I stayed by myself and just watched them play. I wandered over to some trails and followed one a little ways, then turned back, worried that I wouldn't be able to find my way back.

I finally decided that if I waited any longer it wouldn't change anything. If they were to make any progress with anything, then they would have done it by now. So I started walking back to Mimi's house.

Well, I didn't hear yelling and Mimi wasn't waiting by my car with Arynn already buckled in…so I guess nothing awful had happened…probably.

I didn't bother knocking. I just walked in. I didn't hear anything so I continued into the kitchen, where I overheard Arynn talking.

She was telling the story that I always told her. The one about the princess and the prince. And she was just getting to the end, when the princess finally runs away and decides to handle the 'present' all by herself. When she finished the whole room was silent. I waited just outside, trying to gage the reactions of the people inside. After about two minutes, Arynn continued.

"That's what mama always told me when I asked about my daddy. And she would always tell me that even though daddy didn't know about me, he loved me. She said even if daddy didn't love her, because she left and everything, he would love me no matter what happened."

There was silence again, until I heard an almost inaudible huff. I decided to push open the door and was shocked at what I saw. Arynn must have run into Austin's arms. She was curled up into that perfect area where his neck met his shoulder and I could see her shoulders shaking. My instinct was to go over to her, to comfort her, but I saw that Austin was trying to help. His eyes were huge, bewildered and almost scared. They were also filled with an absolute wonder and love that I always dreamed would be in his eyes when—or if—he found out. He was stroking his hand down her long, tangled, blonde hair that was so like his. I could tell that he didn't know what to do, but I could also tell that he really wanted to do it for himself.

He didn't notice me for a while. I just stood there watching as he comforted our daughter. I had no idea if he actually knew it was our daughter. For all I know, it could just be a "I got stuck watching this kid and she told me this story and now she's crying so I have to do something" sort of thing, but my instincts told me that he knew. And I honestly had no idea what to do about that.

When he finally did notice me, his eyes hardened slightly, but nowhere near as much as before. In fact, they held a little of some emotion I wasn't sure about. He kept his arms around Arynn and stood up with her in his arms. She finally pulled away from him and noticed me, but only smiled a wet smile. She didn't go running into my arms like I might have secretly hoped. I suddenly realized that if Austin knew about her…I might lose her. She was everything to me, my whole world for the past four years and nine months. I did everything for her, and now I might lose my privileges as her sole caretaker. What if he wanted to take me to court?

I guess that my facial features when I got super stressed and worried hadn't changed much since back then. I could see it register in his mind as he saw the frantic light in my eyes. He sighed and bent to put Arynn down. She walked over to me and grabbed my hand, her face still a little red from crying. She brushed away one last tear on her cheek and smiled up at me.

"I told him Mama," she said, "and you were right! He said he loved me!" she was so absolutely ecstatic about it. I can't imagine what it must have felt like, having that confirmation after four years of uncertainty. I looked up at Austin and he nodded tensely.

"Baby," I started, "why don't you go visit with Mimi? I think I need to…talk to your daddy alone."

She squealed and ran up the stairs screaming "Grandma!" all the way. I smiled sadly as I watched her.

Turning to face him was one of the hardest things I'd ever done. I couldn't imagine what his face looked like. I didn't want to wreck that image I'd had in my head of him completely embracing Arynn and I when he found out about her. I knew it wasn't possible. All these awful images of him were running through my head and I couldn't turn around. I just couldn't. That is, until he said my name.

"Ally."

I slowly, slowly, turned toward him.

Well at least he didn't look angry. In fact, he looked pretty calm. But I could see questions in his eyes, endless questions. I only hoped I was ready to answer all of them.

**Yeah. A bit of a cliffy. I was just going to leave it without the last paragraph, but I figured that that would be a little mean. At least now you know that he isn't angry! I think I'm making Arynn seem too old...but she was raised by Ally, so I'm assuming Ally would raise her daughter to be caring and kind and everything. Anyways, I would really love feedback or anything, but all I really care about is that people are reading this.**

**I want to thank all the silent readers too. THANK YOU SO MUCH! I appreciate you guys just as much as anyone else! Thanks!**

**Everyone be safe :)**


	7. Regretting

**Okay okay. So I know that it's been like…I think a little more than a week since I've updated which is better than some of the stories I read, but still it's a bit of a wait, so I'm sorry to anyone who got bored and thought "hey maybe she updated" but I didn't. Um…this is sort of a long chapter. There were lots of places I could have ended it, but I decided to draw it out to where it ends. There'll be another note at the bottom so I'll shut up now ;)**

We sort of just stared at each other for a while. I was trying to come up with answers to some of the obvious questions, but I didn't know what he was going to ask. He never failed to surprise me.

"When?" was all he said after nearly ten minutes of silence.

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and answered him, "Four years and nine months ago. Just after your big break."

He nodded, as if he suspected it. I could see that he was trying to look composed, but emotions were starting to break through the cracks. He was angry and scared, happy and proud, but he was trying to hide everything. When he asked his next question, I could hear all of these emotions and more in his voice.

"Why didn't you just tell me?"

I hesitated. Just because Arynn told him the princess story I'd made up doesn't mean that he knew everything. I wasn't sure if I wanted him to know everything. I wanted to keep Arynn to myself, which I knew was wrong, but the thought was still there. "I was going to," I started. He looked up at me suddenly, eyes wide and serious, like he didn't want to believe me. "The day before I left I was supposed to tell you everything. But I overheard Jimmy and you arguing in the studio, talking about how I could ruin your career. You didn't believe him, but I heard the whole thing. And I knew that if just me alone could ruin you, well, just imagine what a baby would do. So I thought about it. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized that you couldn't have a baby. Not when your career was just taking off, and everything was finally looking great for you. So I left."

After my very long explanation, we both took a seat at the table. I stared down at the wood, noticing every detail as I tried to imagine what was going through his head. There had been a time when I would have known without even having to look at him, but that time is over. I was clueless, and that terrified me.

"You could have told me. I would have done anything for you," he stated, voice choked with emotions. My heart throbbed at the sound, but I had to keep my distance. We weren't the same people anymore.

"I know. That's why I decided to leave. You would have given up everything, and maybe you could have been happy about it eventually, but I knew that somewhere inside you, you would always regret not getting to live out your dream." I was tempted to add something like "and I'm sorry," to the end of that, but I knew that wouldn't be good enough. Despite the absolute rightness of my leaving, despite how it turned out better for him, I knew I had also done him a terrible wrong. He lived four years thinking I'd up and left, not knowing I was protecting him, not knowing he had a daughter.

"I wouldn't have. I would have put my whole heart into everything I did for you," after that the silence was thick, almost tangible. I could feel his gaze on me, but I didn't want to meet it. "What about Dallas?" he asked, shocking me. His voice had grown hard once again, distant and uncaring.

"What about Dallas?" I repeated. What did Dallas have to do with anything?

"I saw you and him the day you left. Jimmy and I went to Sonic Boom to find you and when we got there you were hugging Dallas and crying," his voice was tight and contained, especially as he finished, "did you cheat on me with him Ally?"

I could feel my eyes widen. He thought I had cheated on him? All this time, _that _was why he ran off. And Jimmy…he wouldn't let me go to comfort him. To correct his suspicions. Could our whole relationship have been saved if Jimmy had never been there? Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes and I stared intently at the tabletop, desperately hoping they would go away.

"No. I could never have cheated on you Austin. We were friends, you know that. And he found out about…well he found out about Arynn. And it was just after I had decided to leave you, and he was there, and then you found us. He was trying to comfort me Austin."

It was so silent I could hear the blood flowing through my ears. He was thinking, and I was trying to control my emotions. I tried holding my breath, I tried counting, I tried breathing deeply, but the tears wouldn't go away. They were getting closer and closer to spilling over and I didn't know why.

"He knew. I didn't know about her, but _Dallas _did? How does that work Ally? How does that seem right in your mind?"

I took a deep breath so my tears wouldn't be evident in my voice, "he found out by himself Austin. And I know it wasn't right, but it was how things worked out."

More silence. Then, "Do you still see him?"

I felt almost tempted to laugh. In a way, it reminded me of when he would get jealous, but I knew it was something else, not jealousy, that had him asking.

"Yes. I do. He's married now actually. Arynn got to be the flower girl." And now the tears had subsided. I hadn't let a single one fall, and I was quite proud of myself.

After a while, the silence less tense and frustrated than before, I heard footsteps running down the staircase again. I turned automatically, expecting Arynn to run to me.

It shocked everyone when she ran into Austin's arms.

My heart thudded in my chest and I faked a happy smile for her. She was smiling with all her teeth, looking at me like I'd just bought her a pony or something. Austin was just staring at her in awe. It was almost funny, how she already had him wrapped around her fingers.

"Guess what Mama?" she squealed excitedly.

I put my elbows up on the table and put my finger to my chin, "hmm…" I said, "based on how excited you are, it must be something good," she nodded enthusiastically in response, so I continued. "Then…does it have to do with someone famous?" I asked. I honestly had no idea what it was but I assumed it had something to do with her father. When she nodded in response, I got my confirmation, but I decided to tease her just a little bit. "Oh my gosh!" I squeaked in fake excitement, "is Cameron Boyce coming to sign an autograph for you?"

Arynn blushed a bright pink, funny to see on a four year old little girl. "No…" she murmured shyly. Austin's eyes flickered to my face, and I was shocked at the emotion in them. He looked…protective. For a moment I wished I hadn't said anything, just so I could go on ignoring everything, but that didn't work out.

"Dang," I said, "I really thought you'd get to meet him this time!" I laughed a little, and Arynn followed my example. Austin's arms stayed around Arynn's waist. "So what are you so excited about then?"

"Grandma said I can come over and visit any time I want!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms into the air. If Austin hadn't moved his face away at just the right moment, she would have wacked him straight across the face. I gave her a small, tense smile and tried to muster up all the excitement I could manage when I responded with a weak "yay!"

She turned to Austin, embarrassed by her outburst when she still hardly knew him. "Well…she said it's okay with her but I should ask you first huh?"

My eyes widened at Austin's response. "Of course you can come over. Visit me anytime you want, Princess." It was the first time I'd heard him talk to her. He sounded…like a father. And I knew that he's only known her for a day, and only known he was her father for a couple hours now, but I remember that intense, crazy feeling of love that completely catches you off guard when you find out you're a parent. My moment was when I held her the first time. I didn't know exactly when his moment was, but I could tell he'd had it.

Arynn blushed a deeper red at the newly acquired nickname. Mimi showed up on the stairs behind us and asked if we would like to stay for dinner, and it sounded like an invitation to stay even longer. Arynn was looking at me with hopeful eyes, but all I could see was an image of Austin and her, walking away from me hand-in-hand. I never realized before that maybe I wasn't trying to protect her when I had kept the secret from her. Maybe I was trying to protect myself.

I looked at Mimi and then at Austin, who seemed, not to have forgiven me, but at least to understand a little of my intentions. He kept glancing between Mimi, Arynn, and I practically begging for me to say something in response. Arynn smiled at me, trying to tell me she'd be alright. I closed my eyes, shoved all the worries into the back of my mind and forced out words I never wanted to say.

"Actually, I was going to drop Arynn off at my dad's to spend the night tonight. I have a late shift at work, so I was going to pick her up in the morning. If you guys want…she could stay here and you could…catch up."

Arynn squealed in delight. Mimi clapped her hands and started mumbling about all the things she and Arynn would try and cook, forgetting that it was already slightly past dinner time. Austin was looking at the floor, but I could see a small smile on his face. It was scrunched up in concern and worry, but I could see the pure delight there. My throat closed up even more.

"Well…I actually do have to go. I have a just-in-case bag in the car for Arynn. I'll go grab it real quick." I stood up abruptly and turned toward the front door. I speed-walked out, trying not to make it too obvious. My breathing was harsh, ragged. Once I made it out the front door I thought it'd be fine. I even made it to the car before I realized he was behind me.

"Ally."

Why does he always have to start with my name? Seriously! I froze in place, not turning to meet his eyes. "Ally, I know you're trying to ignore me and everything but will you please just look at me?"

I slowly turned, raising my face to stare at his chest. There was a pocket on the left side of his shirt, and I focused my eyes on it. "_Look _at me." He whispered.

I raised my eyes to his nose, and I think that we both knew that was the best he was going to get. If I looked him in the eyes right now, I'd break.

"Thank you," he whispered, "I know—well actually I don't know because I just found out about her—but I think I can guess how awful this all must be for you. And I know everything is really complicated right now. Hell, we have so many misunderstandings to clear up I'd be surprised if we ever trusted each other again. But I promise you, I _promise _you that I will do everything I can not to hurt her."

His voice was choked with emotion and for the first time, he wasn't trying to hide it. I figured I owed him the same thing. "I know. I trust you with her," it was the obvious, yet unsaid _just not with me_ that we both heard.

He nodded tightly, and suddenly I could see anxiety in his features. He looked behind him at the house, then back at me. "How am I supposed to do this Ally? How have you done this? Being a parent? It's just…"

I nodded in understanding, mouth a tight line. "I just take it a day at a time," I told him, "and besides, it's all worth it when you see her."

His smile stretched across his face again and there was an awkward moment where we both just stood there. Then, we walked back up to the front door, maybe not friends, but allies.

I handed the bag to Austin, who went into the kitchen. Arynn came running up to me, and he paused in the hallway. He looked at me, as if asking permission to listen in. I shrugged my shoulders, not sure what she was going to say.

Arynn motioned for me to come closer. I did and she leaned up to whisper in my ear, "Mama, what do I call him?" the funny thing about little kids, is that their "whispering" is more like quiet talking. I could tell Austin heard her, but she obviously didn't see him. His eyes widened and he flushed a little. Then I saw something cross his face and he looked at me. "_You can decide" _he mouthed. I was a little shocked to say the least, but still I turned my full attention back to Arynn, fully aware that Austin was still listening.

That image of Austin and Arynn walking hand-in-hand without me flashed through my mind again. For a moment, I wanted to pick her up and run her far away, but I knew that I alone could never make her happy again. Now she knew that there was more to the world. I leaned down right next to her ear and whispered so that Austin couldn't hear,

"You call him daddy."

** Haha does that make any sense? I'm trying to make Ally realistically worried about things that happen in the real world, but I don't know how this stuff works so I don't know if it's working. **

** HOLY COW! I have 57 friggin reviews! You guys are amazing! Thank you so much for reading my story! I love love love the feedback! Thank you so so so much!**

** I don't know when the next update will be, so I'm sorry in advance for the wait. Oh and when I get bored I like to read stories on here, so if any of y'all know any really great Austin and Ally fanfics that you love then I'd love a link! **

** Be happy guys :)**


	8. Goodbye

** Okay. Well I have to tell you all something before anything else. This will probably be the last chapter. I am SO terribly sorry to anyone who might have liked this story, to anyone who is even the least bit dissapointed. I really did not plan on this. I thought I would finish this, I really did. And I know some of you might be angrily rolling your eyes right now, but I just...well I have never finished anything I wrote that I planned to have more than a couple chapters. I guess I sort of just...am not feeling this story anymore? I don't know, I feel like a totally different person from when I started this. So, if any of you have decided that since I waited to long to update, you aren't reading my story anymore, that's fine and I am really sorry that I dissapointed you. I hope that if I ever post anything else, at least someone will read it and I would absolutely love it if you did.**

**I am not guaranteeing this is the last chapter. One day, I might have this totally epic epiphany and realize this was my best work ever or something so I'll come back, but for now at least, I have to take a very, very long break. **

**I have been putting off posting this because I really wanted to write more. I really really want to finish this. But I don't think I can.**

**Anyway, at the end of this last little bit I'll put another author's note and tell you all what I had planned, or at least the general idea. And if anyone is really happy that I posted at least a little bit, you should go and thank NotALoveSongHeartBeat, because she PMed me quite a while ago and asked if I was ever posting again, and at that point I had thought nobody cared anymore. So yeah. Go and thank her if your happy.**

** To help anyone who is on the cusp of deciding whether or not to read on I'll do a mini summary (but even I might miss something, honestly)**

Summary: Ally left Austin 4 years and 9 months ago because she was pregnant with his child and didn't want to ruin his career. When Austin comes back to do a signing at Sonic Boom, he meets his daughter, Arynn, but doesn't yet know she is his. Him and Ally are reunited, but things aren't all rainbows and butterflies, they both have their suspicions and grudges they're holding. Austin finds out that Arynn is his daughter. During the last chapter, Ally and Austin clear up some misunderstandings and become allies, not friends, but they are linked because of Arynn.

Last Time:

Arynn motioned for me to come closer. I did and she leaned up to whisper in my ear, "Mama, what do I call him?" the funny thing about little kids, is that their "whispering" is more like quiet talking. I could tell Austin heard her, but she obviously didn't see him. His eyes widened and he flushed a little. Then I saw something cross his face and he looked at me. "_You can decide" _he mouthed. I was a little shocked to say the least, but still I turned my full attention back to Arynn, fully aware that Austin was still listening.

That image of Austin and Arynn walking hand-in-hand without me flashed through my mind again. For a moment, I wanted to pick her up and run her far away, but I knew that I alone could never make her happy again. Now she knew that there was more to the world. I leaned down right next to her ear and whispered so that Austin couldn't hear,

"You call him daddy."

Arynn turned her back on me, squealing. She ran straight into Austin's arms, snuggling her face into the crook of his neck. She was mumbling something, and I could tell by the look on Austin's face what it was.

"Daddy, Daddy, Daddy," she crooned. Over and over, like waves rushing to the shore. Not only did the repetition of it all remind me of waves, but also the pulling sensation, the nagging sense that I was in dangerous territory. Austin was looking at me, wide-eyed and scared, but so happy at the same time.

"Arynn," I called, interrupting their moment. She looked over at me and I waved. "I have to get going now, you be good okay?"

She scampered back to my side, hugging my legs. "I will, mama!" she cried, "I love you!"

"Love you too," I called after her as she ran for the kitchen. My daughter, the running machine.

I quickly walked out the door, to the car before I could change my mind about this whole sleepover thing. I trusted Austin with her. And even if I didn't trust him, Mimi was there.

I have a confession to make. I didn't have to work tonight.

**So...yeah. After that I just sort of stopped. I wrote this like...I don't know 2 weeks ago? And I was going to go back to it but I never did. Um...yeah. I'm really really sorry you guys. I said at the top that I'd tell you what I had planned and if you don't want to know then just skip the next paragraphs or whatever, but for those of you that do want to know here you go:**

**I had planned on Ally going home and sort of just sitting there, trying to talk herself into believing that Austin wouldn't hurt her, or at least wouldn't hurt Arynn. She was going to go over to Trish's house where she would get a call from Austin, freaking out and saying "something's wrong. I'm at the hospital" or something of that general idea.**

**Ally would show up and sort of freak out on Austin and then the doctor would walk up and say that Austin couldn't have done anything to stop what happened because she's sick. I was thinking she was going to have cancer, and I'm sorry if that is a sensitive subject for anyone I don't mean to upset you.**

**Austin and Ally were going to have to learn to deal with it and at some point Austin was going to sort of break down and just be all like, "I just barely got to know her and now she's sick and she might not make it," and he'd be crying and everything, and that was when Austin and Ally were finally going to just...click again. Like, not everything is perfect of course, but like they were finally willing to be friends or even more again.**

**Eventually, Arynn would go into remission and they'd celebrate and Austin and Ally would get together and Arynn would be super happy and everything. And then I was going to write an epilogue where Arynn is like...16 or something and she's got a little brother and sister and Austin's like...dropping her off on a date or something. And then he'd say some super cheesy but adorable line and I was going to end it there.**

**So...yeah. I'm sorry if that wasn't what anyone wanted to happen and I'm sorry if anyone was offended in any way by anything I wrote. I was even planning on doing some serious research to write about the cancer and everything so that I wouldn't get anything WAY off like some people on here do. Okay well...one last thing. If anyone wants to like...borrow my idea or something, I don't mind. Please don't use Arynn as your character because she really is mine, but if you want to like...I don't know go off of this and create your own story, then go ahead. But, if you follow my plan exactly to the point, please give me just a little bit of credit or something in your disclaimer, because I am kind of proud of this story and I don't want someone else taking credit for it.**

**Oh and not copying and pasting what I already wrote. That's illegal ;)**

**Okay guys. Thank you so much to anyone who just read through this entire thing. I appreciate you all so much! Thank you for sticking with the story, even when I didn't.**

**NotALoveSongHeartbeat: I'm sorry that I won't be posting anymore. I hope that it hasn't upset you or anything, but I want to thank you so much for PMing me. It really did mean a lot. I'm sorry and thanks again :)**

**Stay safe guys 3**


	9. Calling

**Okay. Hi guys. I'm assuming that pretty much all of my followers from when I was first updating this story aren't going to read it anymore. Why? Because it has been approximately 6 months (probably more) since I last updated. And that is absolutely unacceptable. I know. I'm a total *insert choice word here*. I'm sorry. And wanna know the worst thing? I'm not sure if I'll continue after this chapter. I'm really, really hoping that I do. I just…forgot about it until now. And I went back and reread it and I could have taken it somewhere, so I decided to try again.**

** If you decide you hate me and unfollow me or don't want to follow this story because I'm unpredictable (oh. No pun intended.) and I don't update enough for your liking, I totally won't hold it against you. But, for my own reasons, I wanted to update again.**

** Thanks to anyone who reads this. There's a recap at the beginning of the last chapter if you're totally lost. And if you don't want to read this but want to know what MIGHT happen later, I posted that in the last chapter too and I won't take it down.**

_Last time:_

_I quickly walked out the door, to the car before I could change my mind about this whole sleepover thing. I trusted Austin with her. And even if I didn't trust him, Mimi was there. _

_ I have a confession to make. I didn't have to work tonight. _

As I drove, I thought about what had just happened. Austin _knew._ Arynn _knew. _Everyone knew and everyone was happy about it. Right? Maybe not.

I just couldn't get that picture out of my head. I watched it play over and over in my head, only half of my attention on the road. Austin: taking my baby girl away from me. Austin: showing up at my house demanding that I meet him in court to negotiate custody. Austin: telling me that he could do better.

And the worst scene of all was the one where Arynn agreed with him. Where she looked at me, distantly, and told me she would rather live with her daddy than with me.

I didn't even notice the tears in my eyes until I turned my full attention back to the road and found it blurry. I quickly wiped them away and took a deep breath. I shouldn't be crying. I should be happy. Arynn was happy, and that was all that mattered.

And maybe _that _was the worst part. Knowing that if everything really did happen the way I imagined it, with Arynn _wanting_ to be with Austin, I would let her. Because there was no way in hell that that little girl deserved anything less than the very best. And if I couldn't give that to her, if she thought Austin could do it better, then I would suck it up and leave.

I'd been driving for about 30 minutes (our house was 2 hours outside of Miami. Anybody that didn't know where I was assumed I had gone far, but I couldn't bear to leave my home. And, as I mentioned earlier, Arynn liked to visit her grandpa). The radio wasn't even on. Hoping to distract myself from the negative, I flipped on a station. The lyrics flowed through the car, but they weren't meaningful enough to really listen to. It was pure bubble-gum-pop, but that was okay with me. I wasn't really in the mood for deep songs anyway,

I continued the drive home exactly like that. Listening to meaningless music on the radio, bobbing my head to the beat occasionally. It felt wrong to sing along without Arynn's voice in the back, so I didn't.

Pulling into the driveway might have been the hardest thing yet. It was one of the first times I'd pulled in without my little girl in the back. I unbuckled, walking into the house to find the light on the message machine blinking. I grabbed it, thinking _maybe it's Arynn. Maybe she misses me. _But it wasn't. It was my dad, telling me that he was sorry I had to find out about Austin's signing the way I did. Saying he had seen everything and he wished me the best. Saying that if I needed to get away for a while he could always take Arynn for a weekend. I listened to his caring voice, trying to comfort me while still treating me like an adult. That was one thing my dad had been decent about during this whole thing. Once I'd told him I was pregnant, he sat me down and told me that he would support whatever decision I made, and that it was completely my decision to make. But he also told me to consider the fact that there was _a life_ depending on me. He told me I had to be an adult about my decision and I tried to do just that. I've been trying ever since.

Once his message was done, I decided to call him back and let him know how things went, but before I could, a new message played.

It was Trish.

She was talking so fast that I could hardly understand her, and I think at some points she slipped into Spanish, but I got the gist of it. I guess Austin had called Dez at some point during my drive home, who proceeded to call Trish, who, apparently, had her "ass handed to her" over the phone because she hadn't told him about Arynn.

I took a deep breath and deleted both messages. I called my father back first, knowing Trish would talk for hours once I called her back. I explained to my dad that I'd gone to Mimi's house and Austin had found out and he was gracious about it and seemed to really care about Arynn. It was hard to speak past the lump in my throat and I found myself hoping that my dad couldn't hear it over the phone. I don't think he did. I explained that Arynn would be over at Mimi's house tonight and if she needed someone right away she might call him. He told me he would take care of it if Arynn needed immediate help or comfort. I breathed a sigh of relief over something I hadn't even really worried about.

My dad told me he loved me and that I should stop by with Arynn tomorrow morning. I told him I would and that I loved him too, and then we hung up.

I took a deep breath, preparing myself for the Trish call. I dialed the familiar number, expecting it to ring the normal three and a half times before she grabbed it just in time. Instead, the ringing cut off halfway through the first ring and my eyes widened in shock and a small amount of fear.

She was angry.

"_Why _didn't you call me back Allyson?" she cried into the phone almost immediately. I took a breath to reply that I _had, _in fact, called her back, but she had already plowed through to her next sentence. "Do you have _any _idea how mad Dez is? He was the last to know about his best friend's kid and Austin won't let him meet her without your permission first!"

As she continued, I sort of stopped listening. Austin was waiting for me to give him permission? For Arynn to meet _Dez? _Crazy, weird, loveable _Dez? _That filled her with an unexpected glee. He was respecting my privacy. He was _over _respecting my privacy and I found myself giggling before I remembered that I was on the phone with a furious Trish.

"Are you _giggling _Ally?" Trish asked incredulously. I quickly took a deep breath, trying to stop them but I couldn't.

"I'm sorry Trish," I got out, "it's just," I took another deep breath and finally stopped the giggling, "He's waiting to ask my permission about _Dez._" I let out another chuckle and Trish stayed silent. I could just picture her fuming. "Don't get me wrong Trish, I totally appreciate it and he's totally respecting mine and Arynn's privacy but _Dez? Really?_" and at that point I had Trish chortling on the other end of the line as well.

"Well, I _guess_ I see your point," she managed to get out.

Once we had both calmed down, she became serious again. "Seriously though Ally," she started, "you should call Austin and let him know that it's okay for Dez to meet her. He's totally freaking out and won't stop calling me about it." I just sighed.

"Yeah Trish," I said, "I will. But tell Dez next time he calls you that he can only meet her if _Arynn_ is comfortable with it. I don't really matter at all in this decision, not really. It all depends on her. But I'll call Austin and let him know."

She sighed in relief, told me she'd tell Dez just that, and hung up. I took a deep breath for the billionth time tonight, getting ready to call Austin; until I realized that I _didn't have his number anymore. Shit, _I thought, frantically thinking through how and why I hadn't thought to ask for it earlier. Maybe I'd thought it would sound like a come on or something. I had no idea.

But I did have Mimi's number, so I pulled out an old phone book I had stored next to my very old and worn out laptop and looked it up. I dialed the number and waited.

When Mimi answered she sounded so happy. You could hear her joy in the simple act of saying "hello". It scared me, but made me insanely happy at the same time.

"Hey, it's Ally," I said, hoping that she wouldn't notice I did not share her joy. At least not the same kind of joy. "Can I talk to Austin please?" I asked, feeling awkward. How long had it been since I'd said that?

"Oh sure Ally! Hold on, let me get him," I heard footsteps and I assumed she was going up the stairs. I wondered where Arynn was. "Austin!" she called out, "It's Ally!"

It was so weird to hear that again.

I heard very faint giggling in the background and then more footsteps. I wondered what Arynn was giggling about. It killed me not knowing, but I was happy that she was having fun.

"Ally?" Austin asked, his voice unsure and slightly shaken. It seems I wasn't the only one having flashbacks of old times.

"Um…hey," I started awkwardly. There was a silence that I rushed to fill and in my hurry I probably sounded like a lunatic but I just wanted to get out of the awkward phone call. "So, Trish called and said that Dez called her about Arynn and how you weren't willing to introduce them without my permission, which, by the way, I totally appreciate and it earned you about 100 points in the daddy book, but anyway, I just wanted to say that you can introduce them if you want. And if Arynn wants. It has to be up to Arynn though."

By the time I was finished I was slightly out of breath. There was another pause as he processed what I had said, and then I could practically hear his smile through his voice. "Really Ally?" he nearly squealed. I let out a small laugh and tried to disguise it as a cough as I heard the huff he made in the background. "Thank you," he said, all serious now. "Really. Do you want to talk to Arynn?" I heard his footsteps and her giggles getting louder before I'd even answered his question.

"Yes," I sighed. He chuckled slightly at the relief in my voice, and I almost called him out on it before I remembered: this was not like old times. We were both entirely different people now, and this familiarity was almost frightening, being able to send us back in time like that. I put up my walls, quickly, before he could surprise me again.

But then Arynn was on the phone, talking about how much fun she had already had and how she was coloring with Daddy and he danced with her and he promised her that he would sing her to sleep tonight and I smiled, knowing that this was practically any little girl's dream come true. Her daddy was a huge phenomenon, the closest thing she could have gotten to a prince, and he was treating her like a princess. I heard Mimi telling her to get into her pajamas when she's done on the phone with me, so, despite my extreme urge to tell her I was coming to get her and whisk her away before she got too attached to Austin, I told her I'd call her tomorrow.

And then Austin was back on the phone, asking what time I'd be picking her up and I told him probably around two in the afternoon if that was okay with him. I wanted to be there first thing in the morning, but I knew I was the only one that wanted that. There was a little thrill in my heart as I remembered that. Not a good kind of thrill, but like a delayed beating, like it had stopped for the smallest amount of time and suddenly had more blood to pump and had to work harder. Austin said that two would be great and after another awkward pause, we said our goodbyes.

I was finally done with all my phone calls and it was about the time Arynn and I would be falling asleep. I would have tucked her in a couple of minutes ago, and now I'd be inching out the door, turning off the light and retreating to my bedroom.

I knew it would be hard for me to sleep, so I tidied up her room a little bit, picking up the baby dolls and the tutus and the costumes littering the floor. Her room was pink and green, her two favorite colors, and most everything in her closet matched.

I retreated to my bedroom after I was done, laying down and trying to fall asleep.

** Okay. Yeah. So, I promise that the next chapter (which I am starting right after I post this) will be dramatic. I'm thinking it'll be the climax. And for those of you that read what I had planned on the last chapter that I posted months ago? Guess what! I changed my mind. I'm going on a different route, so…yeah. Thank you to anyone who reads. I'm sorry for disappointing people.**


	10. Pain

**Hey guys! Look! I updated again!**

** Anyways, this chapter is the climax of the story. Funny that I was two chapters away from it when I stopped. It's the dramatic climax, by the way. Not the Austin and Ally climax. That comes later (if it comes at all) ;)**

** So…thank you to anyone who reviewed, favorited, followed, or silent read this. Really. Thank you. And especially to any followers that read this when I was first posting MONTHS ago and still continued after they saw last night's update: THANK YOU! I mean it with all my heart. I can almost guarantee that if the situation were in reverse I wouldn't be reading this anymore, which is kind of what breaks my heart.**

** Okay. Story. Don't own anything but Arynn or characters you don't recognize that might or might not be in this chapter or the following.**

_Last Time: _

_I was finally done with all my phone calls and it was about the time Arynn and I would be falling asleep. I would have tucked her in a couple of minutes ago, and now I'd be inching out the door, turning off the light and retreating to my bedroom._

_ I knew it would be hard for me to sleep, so I tidied up her room a little bit, picking up the baby dolls and the tutus and the costumes littering the floor. Her room was pink and green, her two favorite colors, and most everything in her closet matched._

_ I retreated to my bedroom after I was done, laying down and trying to fall asleep._

That morning, after a fitful night of very little sleep, I woke up and made myself an extra strong pot of coffee. I didn't normally _need _it. I just liked it. But today, the caffeine would be a welcome boost. I knew that I was in for something today. I could feel it. That pressure inside you that warns you something is going to happen, whether good or bad, nobody can tell. But still, the pressure was there and it was kind of freaking me out.

I called Trish, who told me that Dez had called her, completely ecstatic, an hour ago (and it was currently seven in the morning), and told her that he would be meeting Arynn this afternoon. Apparently he had turned frantic halfway through the phone call, asking what one was supposed to wear when meeting his best friend's four year old daughter.

This discussion had, apparently, led to him begging her to go shopping with him. So, Trish was waiting at the mall for him to show up and begging me to come and save her.

There was one problem with her idea: I hadn't seen Dez since I'd left. And I had no idea how he would react.

After a _lot _of pestering, I finally agreed, if only because it would get me out of the quiet house without Arynn. Obviously Trish would be alone with him while I was driving there, but then I would be there and all attention would be focused on me. Which, normally, both Trish and I wouldn't like, but it was Dez's attention, so Trish would love it being directed anywhere else.

I drove the familiar route to the mall, wondering, in the two hours that it took to get there, how I hadn't run into anyone when I went to visit my dad. Maybe I had and I was just too out of it to notice. Or maybe they all moved and I just didn't know it. I knew Austin had moved, though he still visited often from what I'd heard. I tried to make sure I avoided him when he returned.

Which led me to the question, how did I not know about the signing? I didn't _stalk _Austin, but I certainly kept my tabs on him, just making sure he didn't go killing himself doing something stupid or something. And if he ever did do something stupid, then I had always planned on telling Trish to pass an anonymous message to Dez to give to Austin. I never planned out what that message would be, but at least I had a plan right?

Anyway, my dad knew about the signing. But he had tried to keep it from me. Trish obviously knew about it, because she was freaking out about me leaving the store and tried to distract me. But why hadn't I noticed it in social media? What about the magazines? I was completely clueless and that was almost impossible these days.

I arrived at the mall just after nine o'clock. There were fewer cars than normal, mostly the mall walkers and older shoppers that didn't like the crowds. I ended up parking next to Trish's car, which was easy to find, considering it was a bright blue colored VW.

I pulled out my phone and texted Trish to let her know I was there. I never even look at my phone while I'm driving. I'm terrified of what might happen if I do. So, I wait by the entrance of the mall until Trish texts me back with a "Thank god! We're at Mini's!" and I hurry to the familiar restaurant.

Their backs are to me when I walk in, but soon enough Dez turns to get a package of ketchup for his mini hotdog and sees me standing there. He drops everything, including his jaw and comes bolting toward me. I'm wrapped up in a hug so tight that I can hardly breathe.

Once he finally sets me down again he just won't stop rambling. "Why didn't you tell us you were pregnant? What have you been up to? What's Arynn like? Who does she look like? Did you know that a fear of long words is called hippopotomonstrosisquipedaleophobia? **(A/N no joke. Look it up) **What did Austin say when he found out? What was it like to have a baby? When's her birthday?"

And as I laughed, grabbing his hand and leading him to the table, he continued until Trish told him to shut up. I tried to answer a few of his questions. Her birthday was April 15th, it was painful but worth it to have a kid, she looks just like Austin, and no, I didn't know that fact about long words. He smiled triumphantly at that and I felt a little happiness, being with him and Trish again. I'd missed this. I told him he'd have to wait until later to ask Arynn questions, which brought us back to the shopping dilemma.

We ended up shopping for about two hours because Dez couldn't decide what he wanted. He bought three different shirts (crazy patterns, of course) and new suspenders and bright pink and green pants (because I'd told him those were Arynn's favorite colors).

We made our way out to our cars and I pulled out of the parking lot before I heard Dez's call to Austin about bringing Trish and I along.

I pulled into Mimi's driveway just before Dez and Trish pulled in, which allowed me to get to the door first. I knocked, anxious to see my baby girl.

I didn't really get to see her before she slammed into me.

Austin had opened the door, only to be shoved aside by a flash of blonde hair. My breath was knocked out of me as her little arms wrapped around me. It only lasted about two seconds, but my heart was about 10 times warmer than it had been. She was safe.

She pulled away, not noticing her Auntie Trish and the strange man behind me. Grabbing my hand and Austin's she pulled us all the way up the stairs while laughing. Austin kept glancing at me from the corner of his eye, I noticed, but I was trying not to show it. I kept my focus on Arynn. At the top of the stairs, she turned and said, "Mama I had _so _much fun with grandma and daddy! We need to come back every day! They're so fun, Mama!" and I smiled in response, but inside I was breaking. We need to come back every day. I couldn't just snatch her away. She loved it here and Austin loved her and Mimi loved her and I couldn't take that away from them _again. _

Suddenly, Trish made a coughing noise at the bottom of the stairs and Arynn looked around me. "Auntie Trish!" she squealed, running back down the stairs and hugging her. Dez looked mildly frightened in the background, but he didn't have much to worry about.

I saw Austin's gaze harden ever so slightly as he looked from me to Arynn to Trish, knowing that Trish had known before he had. He took a deep breath, focused on Arynn and smiled again. There was no denying he would make a good father.

Arynn had finally noticed Dez. Her eyes were wide and staring and if I hadn't noticed the smile spreading on her face I would have thought she was scared. Instead she looked up at him without any of her usual shyness and said, "You're my uncle Dez right? I _love _your pants!" and she walked up to him and gave him a slightly less dangerous hug. Dez smiled wide just like her and said, "Really? I _knew _you would!" and with that, Arynn dragged her aunt and uncle up the stairs to meet me and Austin.

I was completely shocked that she hadn't been shy around Dez. I made a mental note to ask Austin about it later. But for now, I was told to wait in the hallway while Arynn ran into a bedroom. Trish, Dez, and I looked at Austin curiously, but I looked away, remembering all the old times exactly like this.

He looked back at us (or rather, Trish and Dez), "I have no idea. I haven't been allowed in that room for an hour now. Arynn and my mom are planning a surprise or something," he said, shrugging.

We waited for about 15 more minutes in an extremely awkward silence before one of Austin's very old songs (and Arynn's favorite) started playing. I tried to hide the blush swiftly creeping across my cheeks as I realized _Steal Your Heart_ was playing. Shit. Why had I even let her listen to this one?

I felt Austin's gaze on me, but before he could say anything about my sudden embarrassment, Arynn came whipping out of the bedroom with a microphone and makeup on, her bright pink tutu glittering in the sun filtering through the open windows, and started singing.

For a four year old, her voice was pretty spot on.

After the initial shock, Austin, Dez, Trish, and I all started laughing. Mimi snuck out of the room, smiling triumphantly. She made her way across the hall without distracting Arynn and stood next to me. Reaching over and rubbing my shoulder, I could tell just how happy she was. And she was trying to tell me without words how much she loved Arynn.

As the song continued, I forgot about my previous embarrassment and enjoyed watching my little girl enjoy herself. Austin was mesmerized, so I took the chance to sneak a few glances at him. He was laughing and his eyes shone with that glint that loving someone always brings out. I wondered if he knew just how much Arynn loved him, even before all of this. Before she even met him.

There was one time, when I was watching some stupid gossip show, that they had come up with a pretty serious sounding scandal surrounding Austin. Arynn overheard a little bit about it, and insisted for weeks that "Austin Moon would never do anything that naughty". I had laughed, and told her that sometimes being famous made people do crazy things, but then they ended up announcing the story was fake. She never really let go of that, constantly reminding me that I was wrong and she was right.

By the time the song ended, Arynn was out of breath and flushed, but she took gulps of air and bowed to her audience, who gave her a standing ovation. She was beaming.

Somehow, in the next bit of time, I ended up going downstairs. Maybe that overwhelming family atmosphere was a bit overwhelming. Being with Trish was no big deal, because I had been friends with her before Dez and Austin came into my life. But being around them reminded me of everything we'd been through, everything we could have done if I hadn't gotten pregnant. Arynn was my life, and I'd rather die than lose her, but sometimes…well, I couldn't help but wonder what would have happened. Or maybe, the problem wasn't me getting pregnant, but rather, me leaving that did our friendship in.

There was no way to tell.

Mimi made her way downstairs, presumably to get some snacks, and soon after Austin followed her. I was sitting at the kitchen table, making small talk with Mimi when he came in, looking suddenly serious. He pulled out the chair across from me, making Mimi and I go silent.

"Ally. I think we need to talk," he said. And that was that. I knew what was going to happen. He was going to tell me that he wanted to sue me for never introducing them. Or that he wanted sole custody. Or that he would report me. I took a deep breath and nodded stiffly, letting him know he could continue. He hesitated, waiting until Mimi left to continue.

"Look, I know that you've raised her by yourself until now Ally, but I just…well I want to be there for her. I don't care in what way, I just want to be able to see her. I've been thinking about it and I know that normally people in…similar situations go to court and negotiate custody arrangements and stuff, but I don't want to put Arynn through that. I feel like it would be really stressful…and I don't want to put you through that either."

By this point he was sort of rambling and I was sort of staring and it was all just sort of awkward, but at least we were sort of getting somewhere.

"And I can tell that you get worried and you get jealous when she talks about staying here or when me or my mom talk about her staying here and I want you to know that you're welcome to stay with her. Here. I mean, I know it's awkward and stressful between us but I just want to be in her life and if you don't feel comfortable then I won't get to be in her life and that…I don't think I can handle that Ally. I've already missed _four years."_ He said, emphasizing the last part.

Guilt rushed in through all the walls I'd built up and I found myself looking down at the table again. I nodded and told him, "I know. And I'm sorry for that. I know I told you this, but I want you to know it really was what I thought was best for you. And, I mean, your career was just taking off Austin. What would you have done with a baby? But I won't take her away from you. Even if I could do that to you, I couldn't do that to her. Ever."

And with that, I stood from the table, and I could tell Austin was a little shocked, but he didn't say anything. He stood up as well, following me as I walked stiffly toward the door.

"Look…" I started, "I'm going to go for a drive to help me think this stuff through. You just make sure Arynn's happy and everything for a little while. I just need to clear my head. It's…kind of been a long two days, you know?"

He nodded enthusiastically, followed me out to my car, and asked me a question. "Ally, are you sure you're alright?" I could see worry in his eyes, which was kind of a shock after everything, but it made me feel a little warm inside and that scared me.

"Yeah, Austin," I answered, trying to ease his worry so that this feeling would fade, "but…being around you for this long. It's a bit like a slap in the face. Not necessarily in the bad way, it's just been a major wakeup call and everything just keeps coming back, you know? And everything that Jimmy said that night is still true Austin. Having Arynn in your life might ruin your career. He might be insanely angry when he finds out that you know." I hadn't looked him in the eye at all, and I went to open my car door before Austin's hand slammed down on it, keeping it closed. I was too shocked to stop myself from looking in his eyes.

And they were angry. He was practically seething, and I wondered exactly what it was that set him off. His voice was low and deeper than normal when he spoke, "what do you mean 'when he finds out that I know'? Did he know about Arynn?" I nod, unsure of what to do. "Are you kidding me, Ally?" he yells, anger directed fully at me, "How many people knew before I did? Dallas and Trish and your dad and Jimmy and _not me? _How does that make sense?"

I shook my head at him, trying to get in a word before he yelled loud enough for Arynn to hear. We had left the door open, after all. "Austin, Jimmy knew that night. When he was telling you I would ruin your career and you tried to defend me? You weren't listening. He was talking about me, but I think he knew I was in the hallway. I think he knew I'd leave. The only thing he didn't plan on was you finding that note and actually going after me. Hell, I hadn't planned on it either. But after you ran off, I was going to follow you. He stopped me, Austin. He told me that if I stopped you and told you what had happened, then you would never let me leave. And he looked directly at my stomach and told me that I would ruin you. So I left. I don't know how Jimmy found out Austin, but he did."

Austin was standing there, shocked. He was blubbering. "You were going to come after me? Ally, he told me you were cheating on me with Dallas. And then I saw you two hugging and…oh my god." He looked at me with this unreadable expression and it scared me. It looked like the way he _used _to look at me.

"Ally," he whispered, leaning closer to me, "the only reason we drifted apart…was because of Jimmy. Neither of us made the mistakes he told us we did. And I got to live out my dream Alls. And now I'm moving on to another one." Looking pointedly at me, and then back at the house, he was trying to tell me something but I refused to believe it. Or maybe him calling me Alls had sent my entire brain on some weird Austin-induced high and I just couldn't process anything.

His look and the way he was talking to me were frightening. I wasn't ready to have Austin back in my life like he used to be, and he seemed to be more than ready. I mumbled something about going for that drive, making sure I didn't make eye contact again and he sighed, pulling away.

Pulling out of the driveway was the hardest and easiest thing I'd ever done. I ran. That's what I did every time something crazy came up. But this time, I would have to come back, so what was the point of running in the first place?

I drove around aimlessly wondering about Arynn and Austin and what he was telling her about my leaving. Austin had eased some of my worries. About court. About him taking her from me. Still, I couldn't get that pressure off my chest, like something was going to happen.

I was wondering about our relationship when I stopped at a red light. I was about to head back to Arynn so I was going to take the left hand turn, then make my way back to Mimi's house. The light turned green and I hit the gas gently, easing into the turn.

I wonder if things would have been different if I had waited a few more seconds. If the light had lasted two seconds longer on red, or if it had turned to green two seconds earlier. I guess it's sort of a habit to think of things that way in these situations. To wonder how things might have been different.

All I heard was screeching tires. I looked to my right, halfway through the turn, only to see the blinding headlights of another car. I remember the face of the driver, looking absolutely terrified as he careened into my car, sending it flying. I wonder now if my face mirrored his. If maybe my face haunts his nightmares the way his haunts mine.

There were no more blinding headlights, and there were no more images of spinning trees, and there were no more screams coming from the cars around us.

There was just pain.

** Promised drama ;) hope I brought it! Sorry to leave you guys on such a huge cliffhanger!**


	11. Author's Note

**Okay. Hey guys. I HATE author's notes. They suck. But, it turns out I'm having to write one really quick. I was going to update today, I swear. I got home and I went to my computer and I was about to start writing when my brother came in and told me some of the most horrible news.**

**One of my favorite teachers passed away either this morning or last night. She was healthy. She was the HEALTH teacher, and yet there was something wrong with her liver and I guess...it failed.**

**She had just had her second baby. A week ago. And her oldest is only 2 or 3. And the worst part for me is that I saw her town days ago at target. And I said hi, but I didn't do anything else and now she's gone and she left behind these two kids thmug will never know exactly how amazing their mother was and how much she loved them. And it's just heartbreaking. And I made myself cry again.**

**Okay. So, I don't want any religious debates being started because of me, but if you pray, or meditate, or do something that you think helps other people or if you believe in something or even if you don't and you just want to help, please pray for my teacher and her family and friends and everyone effected. Or keep them in your thoughts. Thank you for your understanding and I'm sorry I'm no. Updating as soon as we'd all like. Ill probably be back in a couple days.**

**Thank you.**


	12. Worry

** Alrighty. Hi again guys. I want to say thank you so much to the people that wrote nice comments and responded and everything. It meant a lot.**

** I'm not particularly sad for her. I'm just sad for her family. I mean, she was this amazing person and her kids will never know exactly how amazing she was and that breaks my heart.**

** But she isn't really mine to miss. Not really. And I know that what I felt was only the teeniest fraction of what her family must be feeling and my thoughts are with them. Thank you to anyone who prayed or sent thoughts to them even though you don't know them.**

** I still don't know how often I'll be updating but here's the next chapter! Please forgive me in the future for medical talk, I don't know anything about it. And this chapter will be in third person and with Austin.**

_Last Time:_

_All I heard was screeching tires. I looked to my right, halfway through the turn, only to see the blinding headlights of another car. I remember the face of the driver, looking absolutely terrified as he careened into my car, sending it flying. I wonder now if my face mirrored his. If maybe my face haunts his nightmares the way his haunts mine. _

_ There were no more blinding headlights, and there were no more images of spinning trees, and there were no more screams coming from the cars around us._

_ There was just pain._

**Third Person with Austin:**

Austin, Dez, Trish, and Mimi were watching Arynn Arynn dancing. She had moved on from Austin's music, because they had run out of appropriate material for her to listen to. Now they were listening to Taylor Swift, watching her dance along enthusiastically.

Austin squirmed, slightly uncomfortable. How long did it take Ally to clear her head? Don't misunderstand, he loved watching Arynn. He would stay with her all day if he could, but Ally was always very punctual. And it had been almost two hours since she left the house. He had thought she was just going for a little drive.

They really needed to talk.

Austin had never completely gotten over losing Ally. He had been furious, thinking she had cheated on him, and that was the emotion that he focused on. Eventually, he came to depend on that anger so that the depression of losing the one girl he'd ever felt _right _with wouldn't set in. And now, knowing that she hadn't cheated, he felt that ache in his heart.

_Maybe this whole thing is my fault. _He thought as he watched his little girl dance. _Maybe, if I hadn't run when I saw her hugging Dallas, she would have told me. Maybe if I hadn't blindly trusted Jimmy, we would be okay. _All these maybes kept running through his mind and he didn't even hear his mom whispering to him until she tapped him on the shoulder.

"Austin, honey, are you okay?" Mimi asked. Austin nodded in response, but Mimi didn't look convinced. "If you're so concerned about her Austin, just go call her."

Austin looked at his mother in shock.

"Honey, your Ally look is as obvious as your hungry look. I know you two have a lot to work out, but you were made for each other. Go call her. Talk to her. Gain your friend back, and maybe your love will show up along the way."

Austin's eyes had gone wide, surprised that his mother could read him so easily. He glanced at Arynn, now laughing with Dez and Trish. He heard something about getting some coloring books and he smiled as he walked out of the room.

He went to the kitchen to find the phone, only to see the message light blinking. He couldn't remember hearing the phone ring, but he picked it up to listen to the message. It was from Ally's phone.

But it wasn't Ally's voice.

A man had called, asking for Austin's mother. He said that it was urgent, and that she call back as soon as she gets this message. Austin's hands started shaking and his breath came in shallow sort of gasps as his mind raced to all the possibilities.

He was hoping this was all going to turn out to be a joke. Hell, he would take her being with another man and getting pregnant again just fine as long as this call wasn't about what his gut was telling him it was about.

He hit the call back button as soon as the message ended, barely noticing the ringing, praying that Ally would pick up the phone so that he could let go of this weight that was growing on his chest.

After the second ring, someone picked up. It wasn't Ally.

"Hello? Is this Mimi Moon?" the voice asked, before Austin could get in a word. It was a girl, from the sound of it, but it wasn't Ally. Austin took a deep breath before answering, "No. This is her son. Austin," and the woman seemed to hesitate on the other end before blowing out a breath of air.

"Do you know a woman named Allyson Dawson?" she asked, and Austin's stomach turned. He thought he might throw up.

"I do." He choked out.

"I'm so sorry to give you this news, but Allyson has been in a car accident. She's here at the hospital in critical condition. This number was the most recent call, so we called it first. We then called her father who is on his way right now. I'm sorry."

But Austin wasn't hanging around to hear her apologies. He was running back up the stairs, stopped just outside the door so that his mother could see him, but not Arynn. He didn't want to scare her. He could only imagine what his face looked like, and he didn't have the strength to conceal it.

Mimi had heard the hurried footsteps coming up the stairs and she had known something was wrong. When she looked at Austin's face, her heart broke. There was so much pain there.

She stood up quickly, fake smiling at Arynn so that she wouldn't be concerned. The girl noticed something was off, but knew from experience that when adults used that fake smile with her, it meant that she couldn't know what was going on. Still, her heart started beating a little faster and she lost focus on her coloring.

Mimi met Austin in the hallway and he started pulling her down the stairs while explaining in a hurried whisper, "Ally's in the hospital. Car accident. They already called Mr. Dawson. I need to go."

He was walking toward the door, hopping on one foot as he slipped on his shoes. In another situation it might have been funny, but right now it made it seem more dire.

Mimi didn't know how to respond, but she knew that even if she wanted to stop him, she couldn't. She knew that, despite how much he might have changed since Ally disappeared, her sweet, Ally-loving boy was still inside him, and right now he was breaking.

"I'll keep Arynn. I won't tell her anything until you and Ally decide what to tell her."

Austin nodded, hand now on the nob.

"Austin," Mimi called quickly, before he could escape. He turned, acknowledging her. "Call me soon, okay?"

Austin nodded severely before closing the door behind him.

Mimi took a deep breath and disguised her features before turning around to go back up the stairs.

Just before she returned to where he granddaughter was waiting, she heard the car speed out of the driveway and down the street.

_Please let Ally be okay. _She thought, _I don't think Austin can handle losing her again._

**Oh goodness. I'm terrible. I didn't give you guys anything on Ally. But I gave you a little insight into Austin's mind. And it looks like he might still be in love with her…what do you think?**

** I honestly think I'm moving the Auslly way too fast, but I just type whatever comes to mind. So yeah.**

** I want to thank everyone again for being so understanding. I'll try to keep updating fairly often. It shouldn't last **_**that **_**much longer. Probably 4 or 5 more chapters.**

** Thanks to all the readers. Whether you review or not, thank you. I appreciate you all.**

** Be happy. Be safe guys (:**


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